Rabbi David Sedley

A repository of written, audio and video Torah classes given by Rabbi David Sedley

Category: audio

  • Vayera – What is Faith?

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    I gave a shiur tonight(I know it is not Tuesday, but we can pretend, though the shiur may have to be renamed the ‘Sunday night shiur’ quite soon – thanks Yonit for hosting). The shiur is on Vayera and the definition of faith. Do we arrive at faith/belief through rational investigation, or by accepting unquestioningly?… Read more

  • Lech Lecha – Discovering G-d

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    I gave a shiur last night (and a big ‘Thank You’ to Katy for arranging and hosting the shiur). The shiur is on Lech Lecha and whether Avraham perceived G-d in the same way that Moshe Rabbeinu did. Was Avraham a believer in the Platonic concept of creation, or in the creation ex nihilo of… Read more

  • Bereishit and Free Choice

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    I gave a shiur last night (and a big ‘Thank You’ to Yonit Schiller for arranging and hosting the shiur). It was kind of last minute, so I didn’t have as much time to prepare as I would have liked – you’ll hear that the shiur is a bit choppy. I spoke about Parshat Bereishit… Read more

  • The Nature of G-d

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    I gave a shiur last night. this shiur is l’ilyi nishmat Menya bas Hertzel. I discuss two approaches in the Rishonim about how a person should come to understand G-d. Kuzari, Rav Sadiah Gaon, Rambam and others hold that the only way to understand G-d is to use rational thought to investigate His nature. Anyone… Read more

  • Torah from Sinai?

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    Now that I am no longer associated with any institution I can give shiurim on topics that interest me. This is a shiur on Rambam’s 8th principle and the concept of Torah from Sinai. Is the Torah that we have in our Shuls/chumashim identical with the one that Moshe Rabbeinu gave the Children of Israel… Read more

  • Audio Shiur – Semicha and Mashiach

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    Here is a shiur I gave yesterday to Midreshet Rachel (for Lag BaOmer) about the concept of Semicha (which is one of the reasons given for the celebrations of Lag BaOmer) and here are the source sheets to go with it (in Hebrew only I’m afraid)Download Source Sheets I recorded it with a new app… Read more

  • Greek Wisdom mp3 shiur

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    Here is a shiur I gave last night (the first night of Chanukah) at Darche Noam on “Greek Wisdom and Kaballah”. I argue in favour of learning science (at a time which is not day and not night) in order to come to know G-d, and to come to love and fear Him. This is… Read more

  • Heart and Soul

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    I gave a shiur today on what the word ‘heart’ means in the Torah, Rishonim and Acharonim. This is not a medical shiur (obviously) but a discussion of the changing meanings of the metaphor of heart. The ancient Greeks also disagreed as to the meaning of the heart, and even in the earliest uses in… Read more

  • Do we exist?

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    Any discussion of how the world and the people in it relate and connect to G-d HAS to begin with an understanding of the two main views of how to understand the Arizal’s concept of tzimtzum (contraction). Unfortunately, very rarely does anyone talk about this topic at all. It is too kabbalistic, so the Rabbis… Read more

  • Hagadah of Pesach

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    I gave a shiur a couple of days ago at Midreshet Rachel about the Mitzvah of ‘sipur yetziat mitzraim’. This is the mitzah of speaking about the exodus from Egypt on the night(s) of seder. I discussed the differences between this mitzvah and the twice daily mitzvah of remembering the exodus. We go through the… Read more